Kier



April 18, 1933. E. D. JEFFERSON KIER Filed March 23. 1931 ot ne 3 rive l. ...ifi

v12 can dropdown and a liquid level can s be formed. Now for thepurpose of operat- Under ordinary circumstances the well "is always full of liquor: and also this tank.V

In. this; tankxI place `a float 26 of any de-A sired kind on an arm 27 pivoted in the walls of the tank at 28 and having an arm 29 outside, which is connected to the valve 22 to open and close it. f 7

Under normal operation of the kier the oat is'alwaysv as high as possible and the valve 22 is fclosed. Ordinary leakage through it will not' 'materially affect its operation but it is closed under normal operation of the kier. It opens only when the unusual circumstance happens that the pump is drawing out the liquor faster than it is draining down fronithe cloth, and the level gets down .low-enough so that possibly the heating coil'maybe exposed to the air and therefmigh't be a possibility 'of the water being drawn out and the well being left dry. Thus the valve 22is opened slightly and less liquor Vis pumped intothe kier at the top, whiles'omemay'even be pumped in at the bottom or, at least, it will be withdrawn from y`thebottom more slowly. f

Thel other of the two important objects of the'invention is accomplished in a very simple manner.v At thecenter of the kier is the usual central relief` pipe 30 which is openat the bottom and also` at thetop and extends up above the yline of liquor in the kier.v This allows liquor 'to be projected up through it if any unusual pressure is exerted in the' well below"the grate.

j I vtake advantage of the use ofthe pipe 30, which terminates at'the grate, to employ an equalizing means vfor assisting gravity in draining liquor out of the cloth at the centerl of a kier. This lis in the form of Aa perforated 'pipe 31extending rom'the bottom of the pipe 30,`that is, from the grate, practicallyfup to the liquor line.k This pipe surrounds the pipe 30 and is considerably larger vso as to provide a space between the two and is provided with perforations. f The perforations arel comparatively frequent at the topand grow more sparse at the bottom.

" As explained above it is difficult tosecure `'ev-en treatment of'the'goods under the present conditions of treating cotton and that is due to the fact that the liquor cannot descend as rapidly Vat the center where the 'goods are packed tightly. Now withthis equalizing pipe 31 the liquor that gathers' around the center can enter this pipe and flow out and in to the lower portion of the mass.

I may say that VI have found a pipe having eighty-four B holes veryfsuitable for this purpose if the holes are distributed in the manner shown. That is, in the top part of the pipe throughout the first three feet there are eight holes in a row around the pipel and nine rows "equallyspaced `apart. Below this section of the pipe'the holes are arranged four in a row. In the first space of six inches there is al single row-o ffour holes and in the next foot there are kfour more holes in one row and in the 'next six inches one row of four holes making twelve in all. This is given as an example to show show. these-holes may be arranged but the idea is that there are many at the top and fewA at the bottom. This equalizing* pipe is not connected to the pump or to the' drain but is closed at the bottom. It improves the circulation in the heart of the mass by allowing the liquor to work out and infreelyat the center and work morefreely toward the bottom, thus `'getting' a more uniform drop throughout the mass in the kier. This object is performed without the use of force but by the natural action of gravitation'.V

Under ordinary operation, with the balanced by-pass valve 22 closed and everything working well, the float 26 will stay at lthe top of the tank 25 and keep the valve 22 closed. The valve 15 also is closediv The pump 18 operates and forces the liquor into the kier at the top. I Vnot only get thezordinary percolation of the liquor downwardly through the goods, but atthe center I get an additional drop of the Yliquor through the pipe- 31. Thisma'y be considered'as excess liquor and it comes out and in the pipeftoward the bottom and drains toward the well. i Although I have illustrated and described a single Vembodiment of thisinvention and indicated the steps through Whichthe liquor goes-in the normal operation, I am 'aware of the fact that modilications can be made both in the apparatus and `in the process, by any person skilled'in the art, lwithout departing from the scope of the invention as around the center relief pipe', practically to the liquor line, said equali -ing vpipe being X `spaced from the relief pipe to provide a space therein through Whichlliquor can freely work out and in, the equalizing pipe being provided with perforations.

3. Ina. kier, the combination With a, relief pipe, of ane' ualizing pipe extending around the center re 'ef pipe, said VVequalizing pipe being spaced from the relief pipe to provide a space therein through which liquor can freely Work out and in,the equalizing pipe being provided with many perforations in the upper part thereof and with a Smaller' number in the lower part. y

In testimony whereof I have hereunto affixed my signature.

EUGENE D. JEFFERSON. 

